There are various forms of toxicity caused by exposure to woods through dusts or by direct contact.

You can develop allergies following contact by touch or through the inhalation of dust. In other words, both large and small particles can sensitize you to the allergen. The reaction can be a skin or lung reaction. Skin reactions are generally itchy rashes. Lung reactions are generally chronic coughs or wheezing.

Other types of problems come from chronic exposure to dusts that are small enough to reach the small airways and alveoli. Dusts larger than 10 microns settle out in the upper airways. Less than 0.1 micron particles are so small that they don’t settle anywhere very much. They go in and out. Between 0.1 and 10 microns they reach the small airways and some of them stay.

The risk isn’t just cancer, but also scarring, inflamation and other damage, that eventually causes stiffening of the lungs so that the work of breathing increases. It’s not quite the same as your typical smokers emphysema, but it’s similar enough, and less responsive to treatment (e.g. antiinflamatories and bronchodilators).

Of course, woodworkers and boatbuilders can develop occur problems due to exposure to other materials such as epoxies and silicates. Glass, being basically silica, and of course colloidal silica, both could cause silicosis. Epoxies, particularly the hardeners, are well known as allergy sensitizers.

18 replies so far

My uncle dies last year from a lung problem due to (they thing) cutting plastics in the prior month. He was 70+ and still strong as a bull, working in construction his whole life. He owned and operated a union shop, building hospitals, churches and a lot of other really large buildings all across the North East coast.

Good report on wood toxicity. I wrote up a personal account of a bout I had with spalted maple I was using a lot of in turning and not wearing enough protection. I had to go to an eye Dr. and it took us both a while to figure out what was going on. Swollen eyes, red, itchy, runny nose. She was stumped until she said it looked like a fungul infection, then it dawned on me that I was working with fungus in the wood I was using. I told her about it and she agreed that is the cause and gave me scripts, both oral and topical for my eyes to clear it up. It took about a week and a half to clear it up and I am now very careful around spalted woods. I strongly urge everyone to do so. It was not a pleasant experience. jockmike2

-- (You just have to please the man in the Mirror) Mike from Michigan -

A few years back, I bought a NIOSH respirator for stripping and painting a van. With it, I could not even smell the fumes! Something similar to this (though it doesn’t mention its rating here)

Now, that was a one-time only project, but I have continued to used the respirator for my woodwork. What a godsend! In addition to being the ultimate in dust-removal, they offer the benefit of keeping your safety glasses from fogging up, since the “exhaust” port is downward. The only downside is the exhaust port is prone to dripping from your breath’s humidity… It also will protect you from the epoxy fumes (get the correct rating of filter!)

All this to say, thanks for the reminder… Most woodworkers only think in terms of irritants. There are also serious medical issues that take years to build up.

Well I dont think there is such a thing as healthy sawdust thats for sure, but what I do take away from toxin list like this is there are alot of species that cause some type of irritation which is just about any wood. The ones to look out for are the “Direct” or “touch” variety because they are the most potent of the bunch. With that being said I think respirators are a must use at anytime we are cutting or sanding and you may as well just leave it on cause when your done with the cutting and sanding your gonna put a finish on it.

Also, although cloth type dust mask are common to use as they are cheap and disposable they really do not offer enough protection. Besides have you ever seen what one looks like after the sanding process? Just about useless within minutes. Ensure that you get yourself a decent respirator with a good comfortable fit.

-- All donations should be made out to me and in the form of wood or tools ~Chris

Thanks Dadoo. Its been hard to find a decent study within the last 10 years. I am sure many, many findings since then have changed with the advances in technology. It would be interesting to see for sure.

-- All donations should be made out to me and in the form of wood or tools ~Chris

I recently milled up some Sapele for a project I am working on and noticed that my legs and arms were a little itchy that afternoon. I am not, knock on wood, allergic to anything I know of, so that was particularly interesting to me. I will post again later when I mill up the rest of the wood.

With the exception of some domestic woods the rest stand a good chance of being an eye or skin irritant. If you have access to a compressor then you may try and limit your exposure by blowing the sawdust off your skin after each exposure. Although it may be uncomfortable you have to slap on some jeans and long sleeves to see if it helps.

Im not trying to spook anyone out just keep them aware and reduce their exposure by taking small precautions whenever possible. I think it would be a good benefit for people to do their own research on this and possibly make themselves a list they can hang in their shop for reference or as a reminder. If you know your gonna be working with a certain type of wood you may then look it up on the chart and see what precautions you can take to avoid exposure. Eye, Skin, Respiratory or direct.

-- All donations should be made out to me and in the form of wood or tools ~Chris

I recently read a generalized article about irritant woods (I can’t remember where though…) and there was a suggestion in the article about the clothing you wear. Basically, if you have done anything such as sanding or routing that causes a great deal of fine dust, you should not continue to wear the clothes that day or even sit down on your furniture (if made of fabric) without changing out of these closes first. The prolonged exposure or transfer of the dust to furniture (extreme cases) can cause an outbreak that you may not normally experience if only exposed to a species for a short time.

I experienced such an occurrence when I spent several hours milling a bunch of pine. Normally I’m not bothered. I do have an allergy to pine tar derivatives though and the contact over the course of a long day milling a lot of stock was enough to set me off.

Good advice to always wear protection. Eye protection, respiratory protection, hearing protection.May I add though, that NO filter mask made for dust/fumes can or will protect you from low oxygen. Dust masks do not filter fumes. Sometimes the fumes can build up and displace oxygen. Also please never forget that a lot of finishes are flammable. I have responded to house fires caused by woodworking finishes.Ventilation can literally be a matter of life and death – And yes, I have seen death through accidental asphyxiation – from wood working finish.We all have to think safety every time we walk in the shop.

-- CaptnA - "When someone hurts you, write it in the sand so the winds of forgiveness will scatter the memory... "